After All This Time
by movieandbooklover
Summary: To commerate 20 years of DDLJ, this is how I pictured Raj and Simran would be spending their 20th anniversary together. One-shot.


Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic and I'm excited to be sharing it with you. I originally had written this on the day of the 20th Anniversary of DDLJ's release and now have the nerve to publish it. And who can forget the adorable video of Kajol and Shah Rukh reminiscing and poking fun at the movie with the last scene at the train platform. I then got to thinking that this is what Raj and Simran would've looked like twenty years into their marriage. So, inspiration hit me and here it is!

Just a few things: Simran is a teacher (I, for some reason, pictured her as an English Literature teacher). Raj works in the office with his Pops (of course). And the rest...well, you'll just have to read to find out! ;P Enjoy! And reviews are love!

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 **After All This Time…**

A smile slowly crept his face as he buried his nose further into her mass of jet-black hair. Her sweet scent waking him from a good night's sleep. Raj slowly opened his eyes and lazily smiled as he saw Simran lay her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapped tight around his waist like a vine as he held her in his arms, just the same. Even in sleep, they couldn't be parted from each other. She still looked the same, Raj thought, although there were some fine lines around her eyes, and her hair isn't as thick and frizzy back when they met, but she still was stunning to him. Raj had also aged, his hair not a black mass sticking in all ends and its floppiness now controlled with the use of gel, also having his fair share of fine lines, his dimples now deeper and flecks of gray hair in his hair. But Simran didn't mind, she always complimented him when he looked good and always loved to pinch and kiss his dimples when she was feeling playful.

Her laugh always made him smile, whenever she was reading a book or grading papers from her students that contained amusing bits. Sometimes, he found her brows knit together in such deep concentration, he'd surprise her by kissing that area. She'd scold him by saying he's ruining her concentration. But he didn't mind being reprimanded by her. Raj would smile to himself and thank God every day for bringing this beauty into his life. With two healthy, beautifully grown children and a life that was almost perfect, things couldn't get any better.

Of course, there were times when their stubbornness would get in the way, she always stating that he was childish and him claiming her to be proud. At the end of the day, though, whatever they were fighting about would soon be forgotten and made up at the end of the evening.

But there was another reason he was smiling. Today is twenty years since they have been married. Twenty years of Simran being his _"Senorita"_ , a nickname he still likes to call her whenever he was in a good mood (which was mostly all the time), and twenty years of love that was still going strong. And today was going to be special. It had been ages since they had a proper vacation together, alone. After the wedding and honeymoon, it had been a tradition every year on their anniversary to come back to Switzerland, back to the place where they fell in love and be reminded of how they met and came to be together. Sure, he'd taken her to other parts of the world, but this country was always their favorite.

But, as the children were born, work and everyday necessities became primary, vacations alone together soon took a back seat. They didn't mind, as long as they were together, it didn't matter where they went.

Raj still remembered the day Simran told him she was pregnant with their first child, Anjali. It had been just after their third anniversary and Raj had just come home from the office. He was so worried about her when, for a couple of weeks, she said that she wasn't feeling well, and had lost some weight.

"Is everything okay?" he asked that evening, his hands cradling her face. He could tell that she was bursting with news with the way her misty green eyes were sparkling as she was jiggling from foot to foot.

"What did the doctor say?" he asked apprehensively.

Simran took his hand away from her face and gingerly placed it over her belly. Raj didn't understand until she whispered, "More than okay…Raj, we're going to have a baby!" she excitedly whispered, tears brimming her eyes.

He remembered being overjoyed and elated, kissing her fiercely, picking her up and spinning around as she held on to his shoulders, laughing with him. Every day, until Anjali was born, he'd make sure to kiss Simran's belly and speak to the baby. Making sure Simran was more than well-off and looked after, sometimes cooking for her, massaging her back and feet when she felt sore. Practically doting on her every day.

The day when Anjali was born, he cried, tears of joy, along with Simran as they held their daughter. Raj couldn't help but notice that their baby girl looked very much like his wife and he didn't care. She was going to be a beauty, just like her mother.

Raj also remembered that day because Simran's family had flown from India just a week before the birth. When Raj came out of the delivery room to the waiting room, making the announcement that both mother and baby were just find, Bauji pulled Raj aside, wanting to speak to him in private before being bombarded by the family with phone calls and visitors.

"I'm really proud of you, Raj," Bauji said clapping his hand on Raj's shoulder.

"Thank you, Bauji," Raj replied, taken aback from that comment.

Of course, they speak nearly every day over the phone. And Bauji was never shy about keeping things to himself. But this…this was the one thing he had wanted from his father-in-law since the day he courted Simran – that his future father-in-law would be proud of him and that he was worthy of his eldest daughter.

And so, life carried on with a new baby to dote on and love. Another two years passed and Simran was pregnant again, this time, with a boy they named Rohit. And life was complete for them.

Years had passed, their children soon became young adults. Rohit had the tendencies of being mischievous and a trickster like his father, while Anjali was the reader and the inquisitive one like her mother and Chutki Auntie.

About a month before their twentieth anniversary, Raj wanted to do something special just for him and Simran. It had been ages since he and Simran had gone back to Switzerland and decided to book a trip for two. He surprised her that very evening, coming home to the familiar smell of spices and dinner already made and set on the table. Coming behind her, he wrapped his arms around her and pecked her cheek.

"You seem happy today," she noted as she leaned into his arms.

"That's because I'm married to my dream girl,"

She playfully slapped his arm and laughed. "Flatterer,"

"I do have a question to ask you," he said in a serious tone.

"Oh? And what's that?" she playfully asked.

"How do you feel about going to the place where we first fell in love, as an anniversary present?"

She turned around in his arms, her brows raised, stunned. "Really?" she grinned.

"Really," he said, smiling so deep, his dimples shown.

Simran hugged him fiercely and he conceded that it was a 'yes' from her.

So, they made the arrangements to have the kids stay with Pops while they were away for two weeks and enjoy themselves like they did when they were newlyweds.

Here they were, in the very same bed Raj teased Simran about the night before and where they became husband and wife for the first time.

Simran finally stirred awake and looked up at him, smiling.

"Good morning," she said, her voice thick with sleep.

"Morning," he said and pecked her lips.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Not long, I was just thinking…"

"Really? And what were you exactly thinking about?" she asked cuddling closer to him.

He chuckled. "The first night we came back to this room, you and me…together…"

Simran blushed, remembering that night like it was yesterday. It was their first night together as man and wife. She was so nervous and shy, meanwhile Raj felt just the same, which surprised her. She knew he had many girlfriends and affairs before her, but this was different. She knew he was experienced when it came to the physical part of relationships. But Simran realized that this might be the first time he actually made love to a girl, and not just any girl, but to her.

"I remember that night," she said, "you were so nervous. I was shocked,"

"So was I," he retorted. "I didn't think much of it until we walked into this room and I realized that I was going to be intimate with you for the first time. Let alone, that you were finally mine,"

She chuckled and started to draw random patterns on his chest. She hummed in content as she leaned closer kissing his neck. He sighed, not wanting to leave this bed just yet, but he had plans made for today. "Ah, Simran," he murmured, caressing her back. "As much as I want to, I've got things planned for us today,"

"Can't they wait?" She whinged. "I haven't lounged in bed like this since Anjali was born,"

Raj laughed and easily agreed. To hell with the plans today, Raj thought, there's plenty of time to sight-see later. They stayed in bed for the rest of the day, taking their time shedding their pajamas, and loving each other throughout the day. And after all this time, they still held in each other's arms, never wanting to let go.

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 **Please review! Thank you for reading! :D**


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